General and Operative/Scoundrel Tips (SWTOR)

I haven’t written much this week despite playing a lot because … I haven’t been sure what to say. 90% of my game time this last week has been in SWTOR, and I suspect that pattern will be maintained at least through the holidays. However, as someone who tried to not be too spoiled on the game before it launched and who hasn’t gotten past level 20 yet, I don’t really feel qualified to say anything about the game beyond “It’s fun!”.

So, um, if you were wondering.. SWTOR is fun.

I suppose I could add some value to this post by giving a few newbie tips I’ve picked up.

General

Go through your preferences! There are some really useful options in there. At a minimum I recommend turning on subtitles and enabling automatic gear comparisons with your companion.

If you are having video issues, turn off shadows completely.

Once you hit level 10 you will get an Imperial Fleet Emergency Pass. You can use this to port back to the Fleet once a day. Check skills menu (“P”) under the “General” tab. Each planet also has one Fleet Shuttle, usually in one of the smaller towns.

Crafting

Crafting missions listed in Green are super likely to be successful (low level), those listed in yellow are just likely to be successful, and orange missions are unlikely to be successful until you have a higher skill level.

The return on rewards can be estimated based on its listing. The scale is Moderate -> Abundant -> Bountiful -> Rich.

The above tip means that to make the most money immediately, take slicing and run every Rich (and probably Bountiful) lockbox mission.

Other people in your party can come on your ship! INTERGALACTIC DANCE PARTY!

Speaking of your ship, it’ll just appear in the hanger where you are. If you leave your ship on Balmorra but shuttle to the Fleet, it’ll be there at the Fleet for you. Also, it’s awesome.

“Heroic 4″ group quests can be done by two players + companions with a little patience, as can the first Flashpoint on either faction. An excellent source of challenge!

Huttball — the PvP game — has its own skill, titled “Throw Huttball”. Look for it in your skills menu if you are playing, and if you have the ball and are about to die please throw it to a team mate!

Low Level Operative/Scoundrel Healing

Thus far the game seems big on sustained damage and has very minimal burst damage. This means you can actually throw some CC and DPS around.. and in fact should!

Imperial Agents (and Smugglers) regenerate energy faster the more of it they have. This creates a bit of a balancing act for energy management — ideally you don’t want to drop below 60% energy, but of course you still want to heal! There are two tricks for low levels to make this happen. The first is easy: everyone will get Adrenaline Probe at level 14, which will restore energy over time and can be talented to give energy up front as well. I save this as my “oh crap” energy button.

The other trick Operatives have is the Combat Stims skill, which I believe you get once you pick your Advanced Class. It gives a strong energy-over-time effect, but it requires a stack of Tactical Advantage to activate. If you are a healer, put your first two points in the Incisive Action talent ASAP. This will allow you to gain TA from Kolto Injection, your first heal.

So, when healing in a group, particularly on bosses, your mission is to get that first stack of TA right quick and then spend it on Combat Stims. Keep Combat Stims up all the time, as much as possible. You will probably have a spare stack of TA from healing with Kolto Injection if it’s a tough boss, but if not get in there and start Shiving! (Aside from Kolto Injection, you get TA from Shiv and Hidden Strike.) It is a license to stab, and if anyone says otherwise tell them that stabbing gives you the energy you need to keep them alive.